प्राचीन भारत में शिक्षा (डॉ. ए.एस. अल्तेकर - गुरुकुल एवं बौद्ध विहार शिक्षण इतिहास)

286 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
paid to the intellectual giants of the past, who have
enriched the national literature. It was a very happy
idea indeed to remind the students of the deep debt
of gratitude they all owed to the literary celebrities
of the past on the very opening day of the session.
When they paid tribute to them, their ambition was
naturally fired into imitating their glorious example.
They thus commenced their annual studies with zest,
vigour and ambition, hoping one day to equal the
ancients in their achievements. When the ritual
was extended to householders in later times, it
reminded them of their duty to be up-to-date in
their own branches of learning. It is a pity indeed
that the modern educational system has not got a
ceremony of similar import.
Sravani and the Sacred Thread :—The critical
reader may now naturally enquire as to the causes
that have led to the close association of Śrāvaṇī with
the change of the sacred thread. The renewal of the
sacred thread was a minor element in the ritual ; most
of our authorities do not even refer to it. At the time
of most of the Vratas (vows) and Sanskāras, a new
sacred thread, staff, girdle, etc., were to be worn by
students. Śrāvaṇī was no exception ; on this occasion
also they discarded their old sacred threads, staffs,
girdles, etc., and substituted them by new ones,—a pro-
cedure somewhat similar to that of the modern
student, who usually gets new clothes prepared when
he leaves home for joining his college. By a strange
irony of fate, the most insignificant element in this
ritual has now assumed an altogether disproportionate
importance and its real nature and significance have
been forgotten altogether.
Utsarjana Ritual : This was performed at the end
of the college term sometime in February or March.

I, D] SAMĀVARTANA RITUAL 287
The procedure was more or less the same as that on
the opening day. Respectful homage was once more
paid to the Vedic deities, mental and intellectual
powers and the literary giants of the past before the
students dispersed home from their schools or colleges.
SECTION D.
SAMĀVARTANA¹ OR CONVOCATION RITUAL
Who were eligible? Samāvartana or Snāna²
ceremony was performed at the end of the Brahma-
charya period to mark the termination of the education
course³. When however in the course of time, the origi-
nal nature and purport of the ritual were forgotten and
the Upanayana began to be regarded as an obligatory
and bodily Sanskāra, this ritual also came to be
performed in all cases, irrespective of the consideration
as to whether any educational course was followed by
the youth or not. In early times it was performed
when the education of the youth was over; marriage
usually followed, but by no means immediately. In
later times the ritual came to be performed as
a kind of necessary formality just before the
marriage, when it was settled.⁴ (VMS. p. 575)

1. Samāvartana literally means 'returning'; it refers to the
   return of the student to his home after finishing the course at the
   teacher's home.
2. This term refers to the bath given to the student on the
   occasion.
3. Some held that it should not be performed in the case of
   those who were not able to interpret the Vedic texts committed to
   memory by them; Cf. अन्यो वेदपाठी । न तस्य ज्ञानम् ।
   M. Gr. S., I. 2. 8.
4. In northern India, the custom was introduced to perform it
   immediately after Upanayana.

288 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
This of course was not the original idea. The
ritual was intended to correspond in a very great
degree to the modern convocation function. Only
those who have passed their examination are at present
admitted to the convocation ; only those who had
finished their education were in the beginning honoured
with the privilege of Samāvartana. Our authorities
prescribe no definite age for this ritual. The duration
of the student-life varied with different courses and
students, as has been already shown in Chapter IV ;
and so no fixed age could be prescribed for this ritual.
An interesting Preliminary : Samāvartana cere-
mony is as simple as it is significant. An auspicious
day was selected and the student was required to shut
himself up in a room throughout the morning. This
appears to be a queer procedure, but it was due to the
desire to save the sun the humiliation of being con-
fronted with a superior lustre. The belief was that
the sun can shine only with the lustre he borrows from
the Snātakas (graduates), who have completed their
education$^1$. What better compliment can be
conceived for edudation ?
The Procedure . The student came out of his room
at the midday, cleansed his mouth and shaved his
head and beard. He then relinquished his girdle
(mekhalā), deer-skin (ajina) etc., which were the
insignia of the student's order. The period of strict
discipline was now over and the teacher himself,
who had sternly refused him the use of a number
of luxuries, now came forward to offer them to him.
He himself gave him a bath in fragrant water. It
was followed by an offer of new clothes. Ornaments,

1. Cf. एतदहःस्नातानां ह वा एष एतत्तेजसा तपति तस्मादेनमेतद-
   हर्नाभितपेत्। Bh. G. S., II. 1. 8.

I, E] AYURVEDIC UPANAYANA 289
garland, collyrium, turban, umbrella and shoes, the
use of which was taboo to him in the Brahmacharya
period, were now to be formally and officially offered
to him by his teacher with the recitation of proper
Mantras. It was expected that the guardians, who
were well off, would furnish a double set of the
above articles, one for the teacher and the other for
the ward.¹ A Homa followed and the hope was
expressed that the young graduate would get plenty
of students to teach.² The teacher then offered him
Madhuparka,³ an honour reserved for the very select
few like the king, Guru, and son-in-law.
Presentation to the Assembly : Dressed in his
new dress, the student would proceed to the assembly
of the learned men of the locality in a chariot or on
an elephant.⁴ He was there formally introduced as
a competent scholar by his teacher. Returning
home he would bid farewell to his teacher after
paying him such honorarium (gurudakshiṇā) as he
could afford. A critical survey of the Samāvartana
ritual will show how high was the respect in which
scholars who had completed their education were
held by society. One authority asserts that they
were the greatest force in society.⁵
SECTION E.
AYURVEDIC UPANAYANA
Rituals in Useful Education : When we consider

1. Āś. Gr. S. III, 8. 2. Bau. Gr. S., II, 6.
2. Madhuparka denotes an offering of ghee, honey, etc. presented
   by the householder to a respectable guest on his arrival home.
3. Dr. Gr. S., III, 1, 26; Āp. Gr. S. I, 11, 5.
4. Cf. महद्वै एतद् भूतं यः स्नातकः ।
   19

290 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
the great hold which religion possesses over the Hindu
mind, it is natural to expect some rituals in useful
and professional education also. We proceed to
describe some of them in sections E to G.
All Castes eligible : Upanayana or Initiation
was primarily intended for Vedic education, but very
soon its principle was extended to useful education
also. Early writers on Āyurveda, like Charaka and
Suśruta, lay down a special Upanayana ceremony for
students seeking admission to the medical course.
The medical profession was not like the Vedic
scholarship an exclusive monopoly, in theory or
practice, of any particular caste ; so Suśruta holds
that a Kshatriya or a Vaishya physician also can
play the role of the teacher for boys of his own
caste.¹ It is quite probable that even Brahmana
boys may have been initiated by non-Brahmana
medical teachers, though our texts do not attest to
this practice. The surgical school of Suśruta was
in favour of the admission of even Shudra boys,
though formal Upanayana with the recitation of the
Mantras was prohibited in their case.² It is quite
probable that Kshatriya and Shudra surgeons may
have been, by tradition and environment, better
adepts in the use of the knife than their Brahmana
and Vaishya compeers.³
Survey of the Ritual : Ayurvedic Upanayana was
a short ritual modelled largely upon the Vedic proto-

1. Sūtra-sthāna, II, 5.
2. Ibid.
3. Such minor surgical operations as were performed before
   the introduction of the modern surgery were usually attempted by
   barbers both in India and Europe.

I, F] DHANURVEDIC UPANAYANA 291
type. An auspicious day was selected for the purpose.
Darbha, Samidhs (sacred fuel), flowers, etc. were
collected, an altar was specially prepared, and
oblations of ghee and honey were offered to various
deities and sages, first by the teacher and then by the
student. Naturally Dhanvantari, Aśvins, Indra,
Prajāpati and the Sūtrakāras intimately connected
with the development of the medical science occupied
the place of honour in this sacrifice. Both the teacher
and the student circumambulated the fire on the altar.
Brahmanas and celebrated physicians were then
worshipped by the pupil. Then in the presence of the
sacred fire the Guru charged the student to follow the
well known rules of the student life and refrain from
lust, anger, covetousness, laziness, pride, untruth and
cruelty.¹ The student was specially required to be
always industrious and engaged in the pursuit of fresh
knowledge. He ought to have faith in his teacher,
who was required to teach him all that he knew.
SECTION F.
DHANURVEDIC OR MILITARY UPANAYANA²
Ritual described : The ritual was to be performed
on an auspicious day at the beginning of the military
education. The student, who was required to observe
a fast on that day, used to offer oblations to gods at
the outset. Brahmanas were then fed and presents
were offered to the teacher. The most important part
of the ritual was the offering of a weapon to the youth

1. Suśruta, Sūtra-sthāna, chap. 2.
2. Described only in Dhanurveda-Saṁhitā of Vasiṣṭhra, which
   is a very late work.

292 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
along with the recitation of a Vedic Mantra.¹
Military training was no monopoly of the Kshatriyas
in early times, and Vasiṣhṭha therefore lays down that
a Brahmana was to be invested with a bow, the
Kshatriya with a sword, the Vaishya with a lance
and the Shudra with a mace. The Guru, who could
initiate the youths, was himself expected to be an
expert in the use of these and other weapons.
Not common in early Times : How far this
Dhanurvedic Upanayana was common among the
Kshatriyas or those classes of the community, who
received the military training, we do not know. The
ritual is not mentioned by any early authority, and the
epic heroes are not stated to have performed it. The
Mantra recited at the time of offering the weapon
to the student has no connection with the occasion,
as shown in the foot-note below¹. It is therefore very
doubtful whether the ritual was in general vogue.
Probably it was a later invention and confined to a
small section of the Kshatriya community.
SECTION G
CHHURIKĀ-BANDHA OR MILITARY CONVOCATION
Chhurika-bandha :—This ceremony corresponds to
Brahmanical Samāvartana and was performed at the

1. The Mantra laid down by Vasiṣṭha is as follows :—
   काण्डात्काण्डं प्ररोहन्ती परुषस्परुषस्परि ।
   एवा नो दूर्वे प्रतनु सहस्रेण शतेन च ॥
   या शतेन प्ररोहसि सहस्रेण विरोहसि ।
   तस्मै ते देवीष्टके विधेम हविषा वयम् ॥ V.S., XIII, 20-1.
   The stanzas, however, refer to Dūrvâ grass and have no connection
   with the bow or arrow.

I, G] CHHURIKĀBANDHA 293
end of the military training. The central and essential
part of the ritual was, as the name itself would
suggest, the investiture of the budding hero with a
dagger in token of his having completed his military
training.¹ This ceremony is mentioned by Nārada
alone, but it was fairly common in Rajputana among
Rajput families at the beginning.of the 19th century,
and was known as kharg bandhāi (tying of the sword),
which is the vernacular rendering of the chhurikā-
bandha of Nārada. This ceremony, which was per-
formed before the marriage, may have been common
in higher aristocratic families.

1. Cf. छुरिकाबन्धनं वक्ष्ये नृपाणां प्राक्करग्रहात् ।
   विवाहोक्तेषु मासेषु शुक्लपक्षेप्यनस्तगे ॥
   छुरिकाबंधनं कार्यं अर्चयित्वामरान्पितॄन् ।
   अर्चयेच्छुरिकां नित्यं देवतानां च संनिधौ ॥
   व्रतलग्ने च बध्नीयात्कट्यां लक्षणसंयुताम् ।
   नारद in VMS., p. 580.

APPENDIX II.
YAJÑOPAVĪTA OR THE SO-CALLED SACRED THREAD.
**Introduction :—**Yajñopavīta is at present under-
stood to be the Sacred Thread, that is to be worn by
the twice-born classes from the time of the Upanayana
ceremony onwards. The popular belief is that the
Upanayana ceremony is primarily intended for
investing the boy with this mysterious thread, and the
Śrāvaṇī ritual for the purpose of renewing it annually.
We have already shown how both these conceptions
are wrong (App. I, B and C). Here we propose to trace
briefly the history of Yajñopavīta.
**Yajnopavita, the upper Garment :—**Later writers
explain Yajñopavīta thread as a symbol of the
Guṇamayī Māyā, as it was visualised by the Creator
at the time of creation ;¹ but its original significance
was entirely different. Grammatically, Yajñopavīta
is an adjective and refers to something that was
worn at the time of the sacrifice ; यज्ञाय उपवीतं यज्ञोपवीतम् ।
Hindu notion of decency required that the upper
part of the body should be properly covered when one
was engaged in sacred functions like sacrifices, charity

1. सिसृक्षुरेक एकाग्रे समासीनः शिवः स्वयम् ।
   दृष्ट्वा गुणमयीं मायां सूत्ररूपामिवाकरोत् ॥
   तया तदात्मकं विष्णुं स्पृष्ट्वा पालं दिवौकसाम् ।
   स्वयं ब्रह्माऽभवद्बुद्धो रुद्रश्चास्य ज्ञयाय सः ॥
   ज्ञानात्मकेन हरिणा ब्रह्मात्मनि शिवेऽव्यये ।
   तत्सूत्रमुपवीतत्वाद्ब्रह्मसूत्रमिदं कृतम् ॥
   Āśvalāyana quoted in VMS, p. 419.

II] YAJÑOPAVĪTA, THE SACRED THREAD 295
or svādhyāya.¹ Yajñopavīta denoted the upper
garment when it was worn in the proper manner
prescribed for sacred occasions. Taittirīya Saṁhitā is
explicit on the point; it says that Yajñopavīta means
wearing the garment in a particular manner; when
the garment is passed under the right and over the
left shoulder, it becomes Yajñopavīta according to the
authority of Brāhmaṇa works.² The same garment
was called Prāchīnāvīta when it was worn exactly in
the reverse way, and Nivīta when it was allowed to
hang down like a garland.
**Its prehistoric Form :—**The upper garment that
was thus used was normally a piece of cloth. But
in prehistoric times when the art of spinning and
weaving was not known, it was a piece of deer-skin.
Taittirīya Āraṇyaka states that it should be a piece
of deer-skin, rather than a piece of cloth.³ In the
course of time when clothes became common, the
upper garment also became a cotton product, but
earlier tradition of the deer-skin was in a way
preserved by continuing the use of a small patch of
deer-skin on such occasions. In later times when
Yajñopavīta as a piece of cloth was replaced by
Yajñopavīta in the form of the thread, this piece of
deer-skin was strung into it. This custom still
obtains at the time of Upanayana.

1. उत्तरं वासः कर्तव्यं पञ्चस्वेतेषु कर्मसु ।
   स्वाध्यायोत्सर्गदानेषु भुक्ताचमनयोस्तथा ॥
   Baudhāyana in SCS, p. 299.
2. वासो विन्यासविशेषो यज्ञोपवीतम् ।
   दक्षिणं बाहुमुद्धरतेऽवधत्ते सव्यमिति यज्ञोपवीतमिति ब्राह्मणम् ।
3. अजिनं वासो वा दक्षिणत उपवीय । I. II.

296 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
When and How the Thread came in :—
In the early period, Yajñopavīta was normally in
the form of a full upper garment like the Dupaṭṭā of
northern India or the uparaṇe of Mahārāshṭra. Āpas-
tamba Dharma Sūtra states distinctly that Yajñopavīta
should be normally in the form of the upper garment ;
wearing a thread instead is only the second alternative.¹
Jātukarṇya quoted in the Smṛitichandrikā distinctly
declares that Yajñopavīta in the form of the thread is
permissible only when the upper garment of the normal
size is not available.² The view of Ṛishyaśṛiṅga is the
same.³ Yajñopavīta was to be worn on sacred occasions
like the sacrifice or the prayer. In the course of time
the conception of the sacrifice changed ; the whole life
came to be viewed as a kind of sacrifice when everything
that one does should be dedicated to the Creator. If
then the Yajñopavīta was to be continuously used
during the time one is engaged in sacred duties, it must
be worn all the twenty-four hours. This could be
feasible only if the Yajñopavīta assumed a more
manageable form. It was probably on this account
that Yajñopavīta was allowed to dwindle in form into
the modern Sacred Thread. The alternatives placed
before society were many. Some were in favour of the
continuance of the old custom ; they held that it was
sufficient if the Yajñopavīta was worn as long as prac-

1. नित्यमुत्तरं वासः कार्यम् । अपि वा सूत्रमेवोपवीतार्थे ।
   II, 2, 4, 21-22.
2. वस्त्रोत्तरीयाभावे द्वयंगुलं त्र्यंगुलं चतुरंगुलं वा सूत्रैर्वस्त्राकृति
   परिमण्डलं तदुत्तरीयं कुर्यात् । p. 84.
3. अपि वा वाससा यज्ञोपवीतार्थं कुर्यात्तदभावे त्रिवृता सूत्रेण ।
   Ibid, quoted in SCS., p. 84.

II] YAJÑOPAVITA, THE SACRED THREAD 297
ticable ; it need not be worn continuously for 24 hours¹.
Others were in favour of substituting a Kuśa rope for
the unmanageable upper garment². But Kuśa rope was
not pleasant in touch and so some others advocated
that cotton thread should be preferred for the purpose³.
The reason in recommending the new substitutes was
convenience and nothing else. For a long time they
were not popular ; hence we find that in the Upanayana
ceremony, as it is described in most of the Gṛihya-sutras,
there is no mention of the boy being invested with the
Sacred Thread. In stead, we have the description of
the boy being offered the dupaṭṭā or uparaṇe i. e. the
upper garment at one stage of the ritual,
The Number of Sacred Threads increases, why :—
In the course of time, however, owing to its obvious
convenience, the innovation of the Sacred Thread
became popular and its original significance was
gradually forgotten. Brahmachārī was to wear only one
Sacred Thread, but Snātaka was to wear two, one for
the under garment and the other for the upper garment⁴.
It was clearly forgotten by this time that Yajñopavīta
was intended to be the upper garment. If Snātaka
was to wear two Yajñopavītas, the Gṛihastha must
wear three, for he was one stage higher. The Gṛihyā-
saṅgraha however thinks that this third Sacred Thread

1. कार्पासक्षौमगोबालशणवल्कत्तृणोद्भवम् ।
   सदा संभवतो धार्यमुपवीतं द्विजातिभिः ॥
   Nigamaparisishṭa in SCS., p. 84.
2. यज्ञोपवीतं कुरुते सूत्रं वस्त्रं वापि कुशरज्जुमेव वा ।
   Go. Gr. S., I. 2. 1.
3. अपि वा सूत्रमेवोपवीतार्थे । Āp. Dh. S., II. 2. 4. 22.
4. स्नातकानां द्वितीयं स्यादन्तर्वासस्तथोत्तरम् ।
   Vasishṭha in VMS., p. 421.

298 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
was in lieu of the upper garment¹. Devala also holds
the same view; an upper garment, he says, is not
always at hand, hence the recommendation to wear the
third Sacred Thread².
**Mysterious efficacy of Yajnopavita:-**In the
course of time Yajñopavīta came to be invested
with mysterious efficacy. The Āditya Purāṇa
declares that it has the power of destroying demons.
When such notions began to prevail in society, it is
no wonder that the view began to be advocated that
the greater the number of Sacred Threads, the better
would be our spiritual and material welfare. Kāśyapa
would recommend 2, 3, 5, or 10 Sacred Threads for
the house-holder;³ an anonymous text quoted by
Mitramiśra is in favour of as many Sacred Threads as
possible.⁴ All this vividly shows how the original
significance of the Yajñopavīta was completely forgotten
by this time. When Yajñopavīta assumed the form of
the thread, the custom gained ground of making each
of its thread a constituent product of nine smaller
threads. Oṅkāra, Agni, Bhaga, Soma, Piṭris, Prajāpati,
Vasu, Dharma, and Sarva-devas were taken to be
the presiding deities of the nine threads of the Sacred
Thread.
Can Yajnopavita be removed? :- Even when the
Yajñopavīta dwindled into the Sacred-Thread, it
could be occasionally removed in the course of the
day. The Taittirīya, Kaṭha, Kāṇva, and Vājasaneya
schools were in favour of permitting the removal

1. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्राभावे तदिष्यते । Ibid, p. 21.
2. तृतीयमुत्तरीयार्थे वस्त्रालाभे तदिष्यते । SCS., p. 801.
3. त्रीणि चत्वारि पञ्चाष्ट मुनिभिः स्युर्दशापि वा ॥ VMS., p. 421.
4. आयुष्कामैः सदा धार्यं बहुयज्ञोपवीतकम् ॥ 'अन्यत्रापि' in Ibid.

II] YAJÑOPAVĪTA, THE SACRED THREAD 299
of the Sacred Thread at the time of the daily
bath;¹ the Ṛigvedins and the Sāmavedins, however,
advocated the doctrine that the Sacred Thread should
never be separated from one’s person. The latter view
eventually prevailed and still obtains in Hindu society,

1. तैत्तिरीयाः कठाः काण्वाश्चरका वाजसेयिनः ।
   कण्ठादुत्तार्य सूत्रं तु कुर्युर्वै क्षाळनं द्विजाः ॥
   बह्वृचाः सामगाश्चैव ये चान्ये यजुःशाखिनः ।
   कण्ठादुत्तार्य सूत्रं तु पुनरर्हन्ति संक्रियाम् ॥ भृगु in VMS., 421.

APPENDIX III.
CONVOCATION ADDRESSES.
Convocation address to Arts Graduates.
A specimen of what may be described as a convo-
cation address to Arts Graduates is to be found in
the Taittirīya Upanishad, I, 11. As the passage is
very interesting from several points of view, it is
given below along with its translation.
वेदमन्‌ूच्याचार्योऽन्तेवासिनमनुशास्ति । “सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर ।
स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । आचार्याय प्रियं धनमाहृत्य प्रजातन्तुं मा
व्यवच्छेत्सीः । सत्यान्न प्रमदितव्यम् । धर्म्मान्न प्रमदितव्यम् । कुशलान्न
प्रमदितव्यम् । भूत्यै न प्रमदितव्यम् । स्वाध्यायप्रवचनाभ्यां न प्रम-
दितव्यम् । देवपितृकार्याभ्यां न प्रमदितव्यम् । मातृदेवो भव । पितृदेवो
भव । आचार्य्यदेवो भव । अतिथिदेवो भव । यान्यनवद्यानि कर्म्माणि
तानि सेवितव्यानि नो इतराणि । यान्यस्माकं सुचरितानि तानि त्वयो-
पास्यानि नो इतराणि । ये के चास्मच्छ्रे यांसो ब्राह्मणाः तेषां त्वयाऽऽसनेन
प्रश्वसितव्यम् । श्रद्धया देयम् । संविदा देयम् । श्रिया देयम् । ह्रिया
देयम् । भिया देयम् । संविदा देयम् । अथ यदि ते कर्मविचिकित्सा वा
वृत्तविचिकित्सा वा स्यात् ये तत्र ब्राह्मणाः संमर्शिनः युक्ता आयुक्ता
अलूक्षा धर्म्मकामाः स्युः यथा ते तत्र वर्तेरन् तथा तत्र वर्तेथाः । अथाभ्या-
ख्यातेषु ये तत्र ब्राह्मणाः संमर्शिनः युक्ता आयुक्ता अलूक्षा धर्म्मकामाः स्युः
यथा ते तेषु वर्तेरन् तथा तेषु वर्तेथाः । एष आदेशः । एष उपदेशः । एषा
वेदोपनिषत् । एतदनुशासनम् । एवमुपासितव्यम् । एवमु चैतदुपास्यम् ।
TRANSLATION.
After the teaching of the Veda is over, the
preceptor exhorts the student :

III] CONVOCATION ADDRESSES 301
“Speak the truth. Do your duty. Neglect not
the daily study (of the Veda). After having brought
to your teacher his proper reward, do not cut off the
line of progeny. Do not swerve from the truth. Do
not swerve from duty. Do not neglect what is useful.
Do not miss opportunities to become great. Do not
neglect the daily duties of learning and teaching (the
Veda). Do not neglect the (sacrificial) rituals due to
the Gods and Fathers.
Let your mother be to you like unto a god. Let
your father be to you like unto a god. Let your
teacher be to you like unto a god. Let your guest be
to you like unto a god.
Whatever actions are blameless, those should be
followed, not others. Whatever good works have been
performed by us, those should be emulated by you,
not others. And there are some Brahmanas better
than we. They should be comforted by you by giving
them a seat.
Whatever is given should be given with faith,
not without faith,—with joy, with modesty, with fear,
with kindness.
If there should be any doubt in your mind with
regard to any duty or with regard to conduct,—in
that case conduct yourself as Brahmanas, who possess
good judgment, conduct themselves therein, whether
they be appointed or not, as long as they are not too
severe, but devoted to duty. And with regard to
things that have been spoken against, conduct your-
self as Brahmanas, who possess good judgment, con-
duct themselves therein, whether they be appointed
or not, as long as they are not too severe, but devoted
to duty.

302 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
Thus conduct yourself. This is the rule. This is
the teaching. This is the true purport (Upanishad) of
the Veda. This is the command. Thus should you
observe. Thus should this be observed."
Convocation Address to Medical Graduates.
We get a very good specimen of the convocation
address to medical students in Charakasamhitā
Vimānasthāna, 8, 6-8. Important passages from it are
given below, along with an English rendering.
अनुज्ञातेन प्रविचरता [ त्वया ] पूर्वं गुर्वर्थोपान्वाहरणे यथाशक्ति
प्रयतितव्यम् । कर्मसिद्धिर्मर्थसिद्धिं यशोलाभं प्रेत्य च स्वर्गमिच्छता त्वया
गोब्राह्मणमादौ कृत्वा सर्वप्राणभृतां शर्माशासितव्यम् । अहरहरुत्तिष्ठता
चोपविशता च सर्वात्मना चातुराणामारोग्ये प्रयतितव्यम् । जीवहेतोरपि
चातुरेभ्यो नाभिद्रोग्धव्यम् । मनसापि च परस्त्रियो नाभिगमनीयास्तथा च
सर्वमेव परस्वम् । निभृतवेशपरिच्छदेन भवितव्यम् । अशौण्डेनापापेनापाप-
सहायेन च श्लक्ष्णशुक्लधर्म्यशर्म्यधन्यसत्यहितमितवचसा देशकालविचारिणा
स्मृतिमति ज्ञानोत्थापनकरणसंपत्सु नित्यं यत्नवता च न कदाचित्...............
अनपवादप्रतिकाराणां मुमूर्षूणां च तथैवासन्निहितेश्वराणां स्त्रीणामनध्यक्षाणां
वौषधमनुविधातव्यम् । न च कदाचित्स्त्रीदत्तमामिषमादातव्यमननुज्ञातं
भर्त्राथवाध्यक्षेण । आतुरकुलं .................. चानुप्राविश्य वाङ्मनोबुद्धी-
न्द्रियाणि न क्वचित्प्रणिधातव्यानि अन्यत्रातुरादातुरोपकारार्थादातुरगतेष्व-
न्येषु वा भावेषु । न चातुरकुलप्रवृत्तयो बहिर्निश्शारयितव्याः । ह्रसितं
चायुःप्रमाणमातुरस्य न वर्णयितव्यम् जानतापि तत्र यत्रोच्यमानमातुरस्या-
न्यस्य वाप्युपघाताय संपद्यते ।
विज्ञानवतापि च नात्यर्थमात्मनो ज्ञाने विकत्थितव्यम् । आप्तादपि
हि विकत्थमानादत्यर्थमुद्विजन्त्येके । न चैव ह्यस्ति सुतरामायुर्वेदस्य
पारम् । तस्मादप्रमत्तः शश्वदभियोगमिच्छन् गच्छेत् । ......। कृत्स्नो हि
लोको बुद्धिमतामाचार्यः । शत्रुश्चाबुद्धिमतामेव । अतश्चाभिसमीक्ष्य
बुद्धिमताऽमित्रस्यापि यशस्यं... पौष्टिकं... लौक्यमुपदिशतो वचः श्रोतव्य-
मनुविधातव्यं चेति ।

III] CONVOCATION ADDRESSES 303
ENGLISH RENDERING
"When, on getting permission, you begin to
practise, you ought to make an effort to offer an ade-
quate honorarium to your teacher. You should aim
at the welfare of Brahmanas, cows and all other beings
with a view to win practice, prosperity and fame here
and heaven hereafter. Every day you should conti-
nuously and whole-heartedly try to promote the health
of patients. Even if your own life is in danger, you
should not neglect your patients. You should not
entertain an evil thought about the wealth or wives of
others. Your dress should be modest, not foppish.
Avoid drinking, do not commit a sin, nor help one
who is committing it. Your speech should be smooth,
polished, truthful and to the point. Taking all facts
into consideration, you should make a deliberate
endeavour to increase the stock of your knowledge and
instruments. Do not give medicine to those whose
disease is definitely ascertained to be incurable, or to
those who are about to die, or to women, if their
husbands or guardians are not present. Do not accept
any fees from ladies without the assent of their
husbands or guardians. When you enter a patient's
room, all your attention should be centred on the
patient, his expression, movements and medicines, to
the exclusion of everything else. You must treat as
strictly confidential all information about the patient
and his family. Where there is a danger of the
patient or any of his relatives receiving a shock, you
should not divulge the impending death of the patient
even when you are aware of it.
Though well grounded in your line, you should
not praise your knowledge much; for some people get
disgusted even with their friends and relatives if they

304 EDUCATION IN ANCIENT INDIA [App.
are given to boasting. One can never get a mastery
of the entire medical science; unelated, one should
therefore pass one's time in making a constant effort
to learn something more. A wise man will indeed
gather something from every quarter; a fool only
thinks otherwise, and shows jealousy. Taking all
things into consideration, a wise physician should
listen to and derive benefit from the discoveries or
observations even of an enemy, if they are calculated
to promote one's fame and prosperity in this world.

APPENDIX IV
FOUR VEDAS, SIX ANGAS, TEN GRANTHAS,
FOURTEEN VIDYĀS, EIGHTEEN ŚILPAS AND
SIXTY-FOUR KALĀS.
In connection with the curriculum in ancient
India, the above expressions are frequently used; we
therefore propose to explain them briefly in this
appendix.
Four Vedas :—They are the Rigveda, the Yajur-
veda, the Sāmaveda and the Atharvaveda. These were
regarded as revealed, but there was a time when a deep
prejudice was entertained against the Atharvaveda,
which was therefore excluded from studies. The
remaining three Vedas were therefore called Trayī.
Six Angas :—These were the following; 1 Śikshā,
the science of pronunciation ; Kalpa, the science of
ritualism ; Vyākaraṇa, grammar; Nirukta, philology,
Chandas, prosody, and Jyotisha, astronomy.
Dasa Granthas :—These were the following:
1 One's own Veda 2. Its Brāhmaṇa 3 and Āraṇyaka
4 Nighaṇṭu and the six Aṅgas enumerated above. A
graduate, who had mastered all these, was known as
a Daśagranthī Brahmana.
Fourteen Vidyas : During the Pauranic period,
a person was regarded as a distinguished scholar if he
had mastered fourteen Vidyās. These were usually
taken to be 1-4 Vedas, 5-10 Shaḍaṅgas, 11 Dharma-
śāstra (sacred and secular law) 12 Purāṇas, 13
Mīmānsā (science of exegis) and 14 Tarka (logic)
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